Loetje aan de Amstel — Restaurant in Amstelveen

This was my second experience at Loetje aan de Amstel. The first one, last year, wasn’t a good one (long waits for food, inattentive staff); unfortunately, this time was even worse.

At arrival, parking turned out to be an issue. Their own parking lot was fully occupied, and so was the one closest to it. I had to wait 20 minutes in a jam to enter another lot, that cost me € 8,-(!) for a couple of hours. Due to this I only arrived at 18:20 instead of 17:50, which isn’t great considering you only have a 2-hour window to eat, starting at 18:00.

The service was rushed. Several drinks were ordered but never delivered (they were, of course, charged). Where the staff was inattentive on my last visit, they were overly present this time around; It’s annoying when someone comes asking for drinks every 5 minutes.

The food was okay-ish. Not bad by any means, but a bit of a let-down if I compare it to my experiences at other Loetje-locations. I had a tomato soup as a starter; It tasted a bit pre-made. The main, a beef tenderloin, was good; it’s Loetje’s signature dish, and I’ve never been disappointed by it. The gravy, often the cherry on top of the Loetje-steaks, tasted a bit flat and weak, and lacked the richer flavours I’m used to.

To cap things off a waitress arrived at the table at 19:50 asking us to make sure we left the table at in 10 minutes, as they had another group coming. Many of us were still eating their main platter (which had arrived at 19:25) so that was quite unpleasant. There was no room for a dessert or coffee at the table.

The summarize this experience: okay-ish food with mediocre service for a premium price. I’ll be going to Loetje Oost next time again, that one remains...

Nice place. We were with a group of 8 people for an end of year lunch and had a nice corner spot all to ourselves.

Service: Servers were nice and helpful. I'm pregnant and often find it annoying having to ask people about the food ingredients but they were really patient with me and answered my questions. However with a group of 8 people it's often a bit hard to coordinate everything so when we were drinking coffee they had forgotten one person which was a bit sad. But they acknowledged it and came back with our coffee.

Food: I ordered the club sandwich chicken and it did not dissapoint. It was stuffed with chicken, bacon, mayo, tomato and lettuce on nice toasted corn bread. Someone else ordered the chicken salad which was Delicious, but just a really big portion. Could have definitely been smaller. Prices are very decent and cannot be complained about.

Atmosphere: It's a nice looking place, wooden tables, a bit of an industrial vibe. The music wasn't too loud which means you could just focus on the conversation at the table. It does feel a bit like a lot of other restaurants do and to me that actually reduces the atmosphere. It lacks a bit of character in it's design. The bar in the middle is pretty cool and so I can imagine that around dinner time (and after) and on the weekends there could be a nice buzz going around the restaurant but that is just an assumption as we were...

Fantastic location! Incredible if you are planning a date and want to surprise your significant other. Friendly staff and a good selection of food and drink.

Location & Ambience: (5/5) I would give this area a 6 on 5. But that is because of the vibe of the entire street. The street is full of a great selection of restaurant from Asian to continental. The vibe during the evening and sunset are perfect. It changing sky and the feel of a small town make for a great evening view.

Food & Drink: (4/5) The beer is a selection of the usual and nothing too out of the ordinary. The burgers were good as were the portion sizes. The flavours were all there and the salad was great. All in all a great option for food, but nothing that will blow your mind. I enjoyed it, but given the incredible food in Amsterdam overall, it’s hard to give it full marks. Nonetheless a great place to sit and grab food. After all an experience of eating out is an experience that involves all the senses.

Summary: (4/5) Ambience, ambience and ambience. This is the place to be. A must try. A ways out of the city, but totally worth...